[pettaw]

Sorry for not replying sooner, but been away somewhere with no internet :( Yep getting the gearbox out was a complete pig, but luckily I didn't have to break any fuel hoses, only the one coming out of the fuel pump :) Getting the box back in, we damaged the rear diff cover, but a new one was only 21 quids from the dealer so not too much of a loss. I got another gear change rod and bracket from a scrappy and after all that work, the gear change feels a lot tighter :) but still lies over to the right :( Never mind, at least I can now feel what gear I'm in.

While we had the car grounded we did a lot of service items on it like changing oils, fluids, belts including timing belt, thank goodness we did 'cos it was starting to split. The heater valve was very stiff so we freed it off. Unfortunately after it was freed off it started to leak, so new one of those put on, complete nightmare as, because the car has a/c, all the hoses are in the way.

We overhauled the fuel injection system, cleaned out all the gunk and then when we tested the injectors, found that instead of spraying a nice atomised spray, they were squirting. Apparently according to the experts the pins in them wear out. New set ordered, ouch to the back pocket on that one, but after fitting new ones and cleaning out all of the gunk from the manifold and throttle body etc. car goes like a rocket.

Had the tracking done today as the tyres were vibrating like mad at speed and also there was a slight pull to the left. Found that instead of a toe-in there was a toe-out, so someone had set them up thinking the car was a front wheel drive.

The a/c is needles to say, non-functional, and apparently is on the old gas (r12 is it?), but now they have replacement gas so am going to get it checked out at the weekend.

I'm working on the pictures of the sunroof for you, after the car is fixed and all washed and clean, I'll post one up.

One more thing, the nearside front jacking point is a bit soft. Is this a potential MOT fail, and if so is it easy to fix? At the moment I'm placing my axle stands on the end of the rear engine bearer. Also, the car doesn't have a dim-dip relay, so is it easy to wire one up, considering I've got the green Volvo books with good wiring diagrams and tons of patience, or is it not worth the trouble?

More news I'm sure as more glitches are found.

Andy